Tampered
by Grac3
Summary: While at his father's side as he oversees a trial, Noctis collapses. What follows is a race to discover what ailment as befallen the prince before it's too late.


**A.N.:** Written for the kinkmeme:

Noctis is standing with his father during an important briefing/meeting, when the prince suddenly faints. Clarus catches him and Regis is worried about his son.

*Bonus if he faints from sickness or injury

**Double bonus for father & son cuddles

 **Disclaimer: Don't own Final Fantasy XV**

* * *

"We're innocent! I swear!"

Two men, on their knees in the Citadel throne room, struggled against the Kingsglaives holding them down. Atop the staircase, the royal entourage peered down at them: Clarus and Cor at either side of the throne, Noctis at his father's right hand, and Regis upon the throne.

"You were found breaching the Wall with Niflheim technology." The king's voice boomed throughout the large, empty space.

One of the men cried out as he forced his head up so that he might look at Regis. "We were to do nothing," he growled through gritted teeth.

Regis curled his fingers around the edge of the arms of the throne. "Explain yourselves!"

The man smirked. "We were just the distraction."

"Dad?"

Regis turned. Noctis was raising a hand to his pale temple.

"Noctis?"

"I don't… feel..."

Noctis fell.

Regis tried to catch him, but he couldn't stand up fast enough. Clarus forward and gathered Noctis up in his arms before he could hit the floor. He sank to his knees and rested Noctis' head in his lap.

"Take them to the dungeons!" Regis barked at the Kingsglaive holding the prisoners. Regis didn't look back as the prisoners were dragged away: he only had eyes for his son.

"Your Majesty," Clarus mumbled.

"What's wrong with him?"

Clarus pulled his hand away from Noctis' glove. It came away red.

~{final-fantasy-xv}~

By the time Regis and Clarus had brought Noctis to the Citadel's infirmary, Noctis' lips were turning blue. Clarus tightened his hold on Noctis as they burst through the double doors. They banged against the wall with a loud slam, and all eyes turned to them. Dr Jovanka, the nearest to the doors, paled at the sight of the unconscious prince.

"Your Majesty!" Dr Jovanka yelped. "What happened?"

"He collapsed," Clarus said.

"Bring him over here." Dr Jovanka led them to the nearest available bed, and Clarus laid Noctis down upon it.

"Where is the blood coming from?" Dr Jovanka gestured to the stain on Clarus' hand.

"It was on his glove," Clarus explained.

Dr Jovanka nodded. She lifted Noctis' hand in a gentle grip and peeled his glove off.

Regis gasped at the sight of the bandage around Noctis' arm as it was unfolded. It had been wrapped around his entire forearm, and it was saturated with blood.

Regis placed a hand on Clarus' shoulder and leaned into him. Clarus wrapped an arm around Regis' waist and pulled him close.

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure," Dr Jovanka admitted. "This blood is fresh, so the wound can't be too old. The bandage has also been applied by someone who clearly has had First Aid training. I doubt Noctis would be able to bandage his own arm this well."

"So someone must know what happened to him," Regis said. "And they neglected to inform me." His eyes darkened.

Clarus squeezed his waist. "We'll find those responsible. They will pay."

"I need to see what I'm working with." Dr Jovanka cleaned her hands with the sanitizer from the dispenser on the wall, then donned a pair of disposable gloves. She began to peel the soiled bandage off Noctis' arm, and tutted under her breath. "It's hard to see where the wound actually is." Blood was oozing from the wound faster than she could wipe it away.

"Where's the wound?" Regis asked.

"It's… it's there." Dr Jovanka indicated an inch-long gash on Noctis' forearm.

"That's it? But it's bleeding so much."

"I'm going to put some gauze on it that should stem the bleeding, and I'm going to put him on an IV. But I'm also going to get a toxicology report."

"You think he's been poisoned?"

"With a blood thinner, yes. Whatever cut him was probably laced with it. That's probably why whoever bandaged them up didn't think such a superficial wound would need any more attention."

"Will he be alright?"

Dr Jovanka stilled with her hands on the bed beside Noctis' injured arm. She turned to Regis, and met the king's eyes. "Yes, Your Majesty. We can prevent him from losing too much blood until the results of the toxicology come in, then we can find an antidote to whatever poison was introduced to his system. After that, he may need a transfusion, but he will be fine."

Regis sagged against Clarus and let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Come on, love. Let's go find out who did this."

~{final-fantasy-xv}~

"Ignis should know what Noctis' schedule was for today," Clarus said as he tapped out Ignis' number on his phone.

"Sir," Ignis answered after two rings.

"Ignis. What was Noctis doing before the trial this afternoon?"

"From what Nyssa tells me, not much."

"He was with Nyssa?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, sir."

"Nyssa?" Regis asked.

"So it would seem."

Nyssa was still in Noctis' room in the Citadel, attempting to tidy some of the mess he'd managed to create just in the space of that morning. She started as the door opened, and swept into a low bow.

"Your Majesty. Shield Amicitia."

"Good afternoon, Nyssa." Regis waited until Nyssa had risen again to continue. "I regret to inform you that this meeting is not one of joy. Noctis has taken ill."

Nyssa's eyes grew wide. "He seemed absolutely fine when the Marshal collected him for the trial."

"He had a wound on his arm." Regis wrapped a hand around his left arm. Nyssa dropped her eyes to the king's hand, and her jaw dropped. "Do you know anything about what happened?"

Nyssa closed her mouth and gulped. "Y-yes, Your Majesty. The prince was replying to Lady Lunafreya's message." She made her way over to Noctis' desk and retrieved a familiar notebook. "He caught his arm on one of the pages." Nyssa showed them the pages of the book, which had spatters of blood on them.

Clarus reached forward to take the notebook from Nyssa.

"But it was no more than a paper cut, certainly not a wound."

Clarus inspected the notebook. He turned it over in his hands, then lifted it to his face and sniffed.

"Is something wrong with it?" Nyssa asked.

"We believe it has been poisoned," Regis explained.

Nyssa gasped. She took a step back and covered her mouth with her palm.

Clarus lowered the notebook. "It has no odour. That does not rule out poison."

"Is the prince going to be okay?"

Regis stepped forward put a hand on Nyssa's shoulder. "He will now that we have a sample of the poison. Thank you."

Nyssa nodded, and the two men left for the infirmary.

~{final-fantasy-xv}~

"The book was poisoned?" Dr Jovanka asked as Clarus showed it to her. She donned a pair of disposable gloves before handling it.

"So it would seem," Clarus said.

Regis made a beeline for the chair next to Noctis' bed. Noctis was pale, and still unconscious, but his heartrate was beeping at a steady pace on the monitor and his breathing was even.

Dr Jovanka rolled the book over in her hands and inspected the blood on the pages.

"A blood thinner applied to a page. A paper cut which won't stop bleeding." She looked over at Regis.

"Your Majesty, do I have permission to extract some of the poison from the pages of this notebook? From there I should be able to concoct an antivenom."

Regis nodded, but didn't take his eyes off of Noctis. "Do whatever you must."

Dr Jovanka nodded and ducked out of the room.

Clarus stood next to Regis and put a hand on his shoulder. Regis wrapped both his hands around Noctis'.

"He'll be okay, Regis."

"I know."

"You worry."

"I always worry."

Clarus squeezed the king's shoulder.

They held their positions for a long while, watching Noctis' breathing and listening to his heartbeat on the monitor. Then, suddenly, Regis tensed.

"Your Majesty?" Clarus asked.

"The notebook," Regis breathed. "Someone in Tenebrae tampered with it." He turned to look up at Clarus. "Noctis is not the only one in danger."

Clarus frowned. "Do you think something could have happened to the Oracle?"

Regis shook his head. "We would have heard by now if it had. The whole world would have. But with what we know, we cannot let that notebook return to Tenebrae laced with poison."

Clarus let out a deep breath. "They'll have to find a new notebook."

Regis shook his head and adjusted his grip on Noctis' hand. "We must cleanse the notebook."

Clarus tightened his grip on Regis' shoulder. "What are you thinking?"

Regis pursed his lips. "You know what I'm thinking."

Clarus sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "There's no use trying to talk you out of this, is there?" He looked up, and Regis was smirking.

He turned his head to press a kiss to Clarus' knuckles. "You know me so well."

~{final-fantasy-xv}~

Regis ordered the guards out of the throne room, leaving him and Clarus alone. They ascended the steps up to the throne in silence. Regis took his seat, with the notebook in his lap.

He placed a palm over the cover of the notebook. "You're being awfully quiet, Clarus."

"This will take a lot out of you. I am… concerned."

Regis' lips quirked. "I am not worried. How can I be in danger with my Shield by my side?"

Clarus breathed out a small laugh.

Regis sat up straight and closed his eyes.

The Ring glowed, and so did the Crystal above. It spread out over Regis' hands and the notebook held within them.

All of ten seconds later, the light died down again, and Regis slumped in the chair with even breathing.

~{final-fantasy-xv}~

Thirty-six hours after the trial, Noctis woke.

He gave a small groan as his eyes fluttered open. "Wha-"

Regis put a hand on his shoulder. "Take it slow, Noctis. Have some water."

"Urgh… What happened?" Noctis pushed himself up and sat back against his pillow. He raised a hand to his head as Regis passed him a plastic cup of water. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. What do you remember?"

Noctis took a sip of water, then held the cup between his hands in his lap. "I remember the trial." He furrowed his brow. "Don't remember how it turned out."

Regis nodded. "You collapsed, Noctis."

Noctis' eyes went wide. "What?"

"The notebook you share with Lady Lunafreya had been laced with poison, which went into your bloodstream when you cut your arm on its pages."

"Is Luna okay?"

Regis nodded. "As far as we know, no harm has befallen the Oracle. It is most likely that the notebook was tampered with after it had left her care, and we have taken every measure to ensure that it will be safe to return it to her."

Noctis wrapped a hand around his forearm. "Shit."

Regis raised an eyebrow. "Language."

"I've just been poisoned, I think I'm allowed to swear."

Regis laughed; he reached over to ruffle Noctis' hair.

"Hey! That was perfectly styled!"

"It was a mess."

"It was a styled mess."

Regis chuckled. "Is that so?"

Noctis giggled and Regis sat back. Noctis looked up at his father, and his eyes were glistening.

"Dad?"

Regis gave him a small smile. He took the cup from Noctis and returned it to the bedside table.

"Come here."

Regis wrapped his arms around Noctis, and Noctis buried his face in his neck with one hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks, dad."

"Always, son." Regis squeezed Noctis tighter, and tried to ignore the ache in his knee.


End file.
